In the swan’s place, there was a woman. Her black hair was tangled and her clothes were filthy and tattered. She fidgeted and quickly stood up, poised to flee. “Hi Mom,” Saro said.
“H-Hello,” the woman said. Her voice was scratchy, and by the way she seemed startled by it, Kya would have bet that Laetitia hadn’t spoken in a while. The woman coughed. “Hello, son.”
“Hi Mom,” Saro said again.
Laetitia kept fidgeting. “I’m sorry I’m like this,” she said quietly. She looked up suddenly, and her face was wet with tears. Kya had never seen an adult be scared before, and it was frightening. Laetitia stepped back quickly. “I can fix what I did.”
A golden mist faded into view behind Laetitia and her large eyes blinked. The mist shot off in the direction of Kya’s castle. Not taking her eyes off of Saro, Laetitia went towards the mirror. “I know that people say I am a bad person. I should go now.”
“Wait Mom,” Saro cut in. Laetitia stopped. “Why don’t you…” He thought for a moment. Laetitia might not be welcome inside the castle. “Hey, Kya, maybe you should let me talk to Dad.”
It wasn’t exactly good for King Tir’s heart for him to be turned to mist, turned back into himself, and then see his son walk through a mirror in the space of two days. “Hi Dad,” said Saro.
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Tir fell backwards. “S-Son?”
“Yeah. You okay, Dad?”
The king took a moment to recover. He glanced from his son to the mirror. “Saro, are you all right?”
“Yeah. Kya’s fine, too. She’s in her room right now. The mist is all gone, by the way.”
Tir couldn’t help but feel a bit confused. “I’m sorry, but what?”
Saro filled him in on everything that had happened. By the end of it, Tir was still very confused, but in a different way. He grimaced, taking a seat. “This is far more serious than I’d expected.”
“Unfortunately.”
Tir rubbed his forehead. “Well, I’ll have to deal with Harmony’s treachery. I doubt it’ll be popular if I banish her, but I can’t risk this happening to you again.”
“Well,” Saro turned. “That might not be so easy. As soon as the mist disappeared, she ran away and nobody’s seen her since.” He grimaced, thinking about Kya. As bad as Harmony was, Saro knew how it was to grow up without a mother, and he didn’t want Kya to feel the same.
Tir sat down and sighed. “Well, I suppose I have my work cut out for me—” He’d glanced back at the mirror, and his mouth had dropped at the sight of the familiar figure crouching within it.
Saro got between his parents and held back a grimace. “So do I.”
At the end of the week, the royal family dined together in the Great Hall. Saro was picking up his carrots and making them dance whenever the adults weren’t looking, while Kya was doing her best to avoid fidgeting. The empty seat at the end of the table was slowly becoming a familiar sight.
Suddenly, the door flung open and a royal guard stumbled in. “Your Majesties!” he gasped. “We are under attack from a dragon!”
The king stood up quickly. “Rally our best knights!” he roared. “We’ll need—“ There was a screeching sound, and a golden swan flew out from the large mirror overlooking the room. King Tir sat down again, sighing. “Very well then. I suppose we’ll need my ex-wife.”
